Only 1 out of 10 women works in Delhi: Report

New Delhi: One would expect a substantial number of women working in a metro city like Delhi but a report released on Tuesday says otherwise.

Only one out of 10 women is engaged in an "economically productive" activity as against five out of 10 men in Delhi, as per the Primary Census Abstract 2011 released here today.

According to the report, the number of working women in the National Capital Territory (NCT) stands at a mere 10.58 percent, while that of men is 52.99 percent.

The highest number of female work participation was found in Connaught Place (25.3 percent), while the lowest was registered in Seelampur (5.2 percent).

The pattern was similar when it came to male work participation. Most men worked in Connaught Place (62 percent), while the lowest number was registered in Seelampur (49.4 percent).

The overall Work Participation Rate (WPR) stands at 33.3 percent, which means one out of three persons in NCT is working. Rural WPR stands at 31.91 percent, while in urban areas it is 33.3 percent.

"We considered those people as workers who were economically productive during the reference period," Census Operations (Delhi) Director Varsha Joshi said.

"Persons who did not work at all during the reference period are considered non-workers. This includes students, persons engaged in household duties, dependents, pensioners, beggars, etc," she said.

Out of the total working population, 94.99 percent are classified as `main workers` - people working for six months or more in a year - and 5.01 percent are termed as `marginal workers` - people working for less than six months in a year.